Coin-counting machine.



WIInESEES G. L. BURDIGK. COIN COUNTING MAOHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1911.

1,066, 1 80. Patented July 1, 1913.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' ch l i d is El E5 0 HI" ID I p w AIIurnegs cHgnLns nsninmcx, or LQNDON, ENGLAND COIN-GOUN TING MAbHINE.

To allnzjiiom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GHARLES L. BURDIOK;

'a' citizen of the United States, residing at Ol'ldOIl, in the county of Middlesex, Eng- J land; have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Coin-Counting Machines, of which the following is a full, clear concisc, and exactdescription, reference being had; to the accompanying drawings, forming art of this specification.

y invention relates to counting devices .and is directed particularly toward machines for counting coins and similar arti- 'cles in the form of disks. I

I contemplate the use of my invention es ipecially in mints, banks and similar institutions wherein large numbers of coins are handled and require count-111g.

I Broadly; my invention provides means for 20 moving coinssingly past a given point at which engaging -mechanism is disposed.

This engaging mechanism is operated interfinitt'ently by the passage of the coins and a certain motion, resulting from this operation, 'is transmitted to associated integrating mechanism. I Myinvention may be said to be somewhat in theform of a mill. into which the coins are thrown anch'out of which they are passed after they have been registered in the man- 'ner described above.

Asa feature of further utility I provide locking means in association with the reg istering mechanism which is brought into play automatically after a certain numberot coins have passed through the machine. In this way a number of receptacles can be filled, each with a given number of coins quickly and conveniently, the machine c om ing to a full stop when each particular allotmenthas been completed fter each stop the machine is reset, another receptacle-is brought into place, andthe operation proceeds as before.

Inthe embodiment of my invention herein shown, means for operating the device manually is provided.

A number of useful mechanical and structural features are employed, these features being made the subject matter of some of the more specific claims hereto appended. The engaging mechanism is in the form of a rotating head which has apart that is adapted to make momentary contact with each coin or othernrticle as it passes. This contact causes 'a certain movement of the I Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 1, 1911.

Patented July 1, 1913. Serial No. 624,363.

part referred to and means is provided whereby this movement is transmitted to the operating shaft of a register.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 s a plan view of the device embodying my invention, parts being shown in section to further illustrate the construction; Fig. 2 is a View partly in side-elevation and partly in sectiontaken. substantially along the in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. Bis afragmentary plan view, drawn on. a larger scale than Fi 1 some parts being nism; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on the plane of the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view, showing the gearing for the automatic stop; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevational View showing the means for momentarily releasing the mechanism for preventing under and over throw of the register; and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view of the mechanism for securing the proper alinement of the parts connected with the register. I

Like reference characters are applied to the same parts throughout the various figures. y

The supporting base of the machine is shown at 10 and is of general. circular form except that it is provided with parts which support some of the operating mechanisms. This circular base is provided with a central boss 11 in which a vertical shaft 12 is mounted, and a circular drum 13 is rigidly secured to this shaft in any suitable manner. In this instance the upper end of the shaft 12 is reduced and screw-threaded for the reception of a nut 14 which clamps down the top of the drum and completes the structure whereby-the shaft is supported in its bearing. It is preferable for smooth-running purposes that dnly the central collar 15 of the drum bear down upon the base, and the resulting shoulder is adapted for the reception of an annular disk 16 which is secured to its under side in any suitable drum or capstan. The outside circumfer ence of the disk 16 is within the periphery 65 plane of the l1ne 2-2 of Fig. 1, and looking of the basalt), and a circular Wall 17 extending upwardly from the base completes the annular passage. through which the coins are passed as will hereinafterbe described. The circular wall is cut out at 18 for the reception of a shelf 19, and an. inlet for the coin allotments is thus provided. The wall is also cut out at 20 forthe reception of part of the counting mechanism as will be later pointed out; The annular disk 16 is provided near its periphery with the regularly spaced circular openings 21, 21 which are adapted to receive the coins to be counted, and in this way the coins are carried to and past the counting zone. At its lower end the shaft 12 carries the miter gear 22 with which a beveled pinion 23 meshes, as' illustrated in Fig. .1, this. pinion being carried upon a shaft 24 which is mounted in a bearing sleeve 25and carried by or being a part of the base member 10. Just beyond the end of the bearing sleeve 25, the shaft 24 is provided with a sleeve 26, secured thereto by means of a cross-piece 27, this sleeve carrying the flange 28 which, as will be described, acts as a friction disk. A crank arm 29 is loosely mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 24 and a helical spring 30, which surrounds the shaft 21, is secured to the crank arm and also to a friction disk 31 which is mounted upon the sleeve 26, the disk 31 and the flange 28 being disposed face to face, with an annulus of leather between them, to form a friction clutch. The end of the shaft is provided with a head 33 which is secured in place by means of a screw 01 so as to retain the crank arm in position. It will now be seen that when the crank-29 is turned the motion will be transmitted to the friction disk 31 through the spring 30, then to the friction disk 28, to the shaft 24, then gears 23 and 22, and then to the shaft 12 and the drum or capstan. In this way rotary movement may be imparted to the capstan and the disk carried thereby, and the coins may thus be carried through the annular passage in a manner to described. The circular base 10 is provided, in the path of the openings of the-capstan approximately on a diametrical line and considerably distant from the 'inlet space 18. It is important that'but one coin pass this counting Z0118 or pointat atime and in order that this may always be the case I provide a plurality of spring gates or brushes 41, 11 which, by means of screws 4-2, 42, are secured to brackets 43, 13

extending inwardly from-the circular wall 17 'and secured in place bymeans of bolts 44,44. The spring gates 41, 41 thus occupy transverse positions in the annular passage and, since they extend downwardly almost (not shown) passing through a lug 46, which extends outside the wall 17, and into a part of the base. Theedge 47 of this shearing plate, which is presented to the approa hing coins, is made more or less sharp so that superfluous coins will be picked up, and to assist in this .action this edge extends obliquely across the passageway. The shearing plate is disposed close to the top of the disk 16, in parallel relation thereto, and the other end thereof is provided with an upwardly extending barrier 48 against which such superfluous coins are caught.

A spring gate or brush 41, in general construction just like the other spring gates described, is provided at the inlet space 18.

In this instance, however, the gate is secured upon an L-shaped bracket 49, the vertical leg of which extends down into a tube 50 secured to the shelf 19. A coiled spring 51 is disposed inside the tube between a head 52 on the tube and a collar on the bracket. If a-jam occurs the-gate will be raised against the tension of the spring so as to allow it to pass thereunder. This movement of the gate is guided by means of a screw 54 operating in a slot in the tube and carried by the bracket. I

Mounted upon and above the miter gear in order to rotate therewith,.is a sleeve which carries a flange 56 upon the under side of which a miter gear 57 is provided. This miter gear meshes with a correspond ing beveled pinion 57 which is secured upon'a shaft 58 mounted in a sleeve bearing 59 carried on the under side of the circular base 10 and extending therebeyond. The outer end of the shaft 58 is provided with a gear (30 which meshes with a pinion 61 carried upon atubular shaft 62 which, in turn, is mounted in a bearing 63 secured to a shelf 64 by means of screws 65, (35. The shelf 64; extends laterally from the general circular construction and is suitably supported by the base, this shelf being further provided with a slot 66 through which the 40 coin openings 21, 21.

45 stances.

the line of thecounting point, hereinbezore referred to, and this hearing extends through the slot 20. m the circular wall,

- hereinbefore described. The tubular shaft 62 is reduced and screw threaded at itsfor an tervention' ofa bushing 70 and is further journaled in abearing 71 mounted upon the shelf 6d at a distance from the bearing 63, The'spin-dle 69 extends forwardly into the casing .67 where it is provided with a s toothed wheel 72, as best shown in Fig.4.

Still referring particularly to this figure, wherein internal. mechanism for the countlng head isshown, it will be seen that a lever '73 is pivotally mounted at 74 to the go back of, the -casing. This lever passes under the toothed wheel andfat its end, has pivoted thereto, by means of the pin 75, a lever 76 one arm of which extends downwardly and is provided with a roller 77. The other arm of the lever 7 6 extends upwardly and a coiled spring 7 8 connects the 11 per end with a screw; 79 on theback of t e casing. A

. spring .80 mounted upon a stud 81 on the back of the casing engages the lever so as to move it downwardly and so as to normally move the-teeth 82, provided on the; upper 'side of the lever 73, out of engagement with the teeth on the wheel 72. It will nowap-- pear that, as the drum or capstan is rotated,

the counting head willrotate and the gear ratios are such that the head will make one complete revolution during the time thatthe disk 16, which I term the coin disk, passes through an are equal to the arcs between the Furthermore, the

gears are so timed thatthe roller 77 comes into contact with each of the coins as they pass byand so that it remains in such contact for the same length of time in all in- In the machine which I have designed the roller is kept in contact with each of the coins for one-tenth of the complete revolution of the head. The spindle 69, in the normal operation of the machine, is always at restexcept when the toothed wheel- 72 carried therebyis engaged by the teeth on the lever 73. Then, if the machine; is running, the spindle 69 will be carried around with the head while'such engage- ,ment exists-in other words, while the roller is in contact with a com. Thus,'fas operation proceeds, wheneier the roller 7 7 comes around and finds acoin in thefiassing opening of the coin disk, the teeth Ion. the lever 73 will be thrown into engagel lnt with the in the passingop'ening, the roller will not be engaged by anything so as to move it and the teeth 82 on the lever 73 will remain out of contact with the toothed wheel 72. The

'spindle69 passes outwardly beyond the bearing 71 and, by means of a clutch 83, is connected withqthe shaft 84 of a totalizing register 85. My-invention has nothing to do with the details of this register and it may Anothercontacting systemmay be provided on the other side of the head to make two contacts instead of one. Just'b'eyond the bearing 71, the spindle 69*h'as rigidly secured thereto a cam wheel 86 which is provided with a plurality of peripheral pockets 8?, 87, regularly spaced and equal. in numher to the number of actuations of the lever a complete revolution to thespindle 69.. A roller 88 carried upon the end of a swinging arm 89, which is mounted upon a stud 90 carried by't-he shelf 64, follows the periphto hold the roller down in such following engagement. Thus, the cam wheel 86' acts therefore be of any adaptable construction.

7 6 in the rotating head required to transmit cry of this cam wheel, and a spring9l tends as an alining member since the spring pressed follower will always tend to rest in,

the bottom of a pocket or depression. In this way, if the motiongiven to the lever 76 inthecounting head is not precisely accu-' rate -if it is given too little or. too *much movement-the spring-pressed follower will operate to complete the motion of the shaft So-that the proper amount will. always'be;

delivered to the register 85. Thearrangement just described is best shown in -Fig.- 9.

In order that the momentum of th'e parts,

whenthe machine is running'at high speed, may'no-t carry the countl'n mechanism over more thanone unit for eac actuation of the lever 7 6 in the head, I' provide the positive detent arrangement best illustratedin Figs. 3' and 9. A lever 92 is pivoted at 93 to the shelf 64 and is mounted approximately on,

the horizontal plane of the axis of the spindle 69. This lever is arranged to enter slots 94, at in the periphery of the cam whcel 86, these slot-s being equal in number to the number of times'that the operating. lever 7 6 must be actuated in order to secure one complete revolution ofthe spindle 69. The wheel 86 therefore acts further as-a' detent member.. The lever 92 carries the lateral projection 95 which, by reason of the proper disposition of the pivot 93,61? tends partly over the face of the pinion 61'. This projection carries a roller-96 which is adapted to follow a cam 97 carried upon the face of the pinion 61. A spring 98 holds the roller 96 in engagement with the faceor the pinion and, simultaneously, maintains the lever 92 in engagement with one of the slots 94, 94 in the periphery of the. cam

wheel 86. The cam 97 is of such form. that face of the pinion and consequently tends to bring the lever 92 out of engagement with the cam disk. 1 Furthermore, this cam is made or such effective length that the lever 92 will be out of engagement with the Wheels during that part of the revolution of the head which is transmitted to the spindle 69. The spring 98 then operates to restore the lever to the succeeding slotand' in this way the machine has positive and reliable operation.

1 The mechanism for automatically stopping themachine when a predetermined numblj of coins have been registered is illustrated in Figs. 2, "8 and 5.

, p As here shown'ja .pawl 99 is pivoted to the base by mean's of'a stud 100. A spring 101 tends to swing the pawl 99 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3) so that the teeth 102 on the end thereof may come into; engagement with teeth 103, 103, on the outer periphery of the disk 10, the pawl and the disk being disposed in approximately the same plane, and the circular wall 17 being provided with a. suitable opening through which the-pawl may pass for this purpose. The tension of the spring 101 however. is restrained by meansoif a detent 104; which normally engages with a catch 105 on the pawl. The

detent 1041 is on a lever 100 which is pivoted by means of a universal joint 107, 108 to the shelf 64. the detent 10 1 upwardly so that, when the catch part 105 engages therewith, a latch action takes place.

110 which is carried upon a duplex Wheel comprising the star wheel 111 and the lock-' ing wheel 112, these ll'l0n'1lH1'S being mounted upon a slud 113 secured in a support 114 depending from the shelf (3 1-. The locking Wheel 112 is provided with a plurality of pockets in, its peri 'ihery, eachof which is adapted to be snugly engaged by the locking disk 115 rigidly carried upon the spindle'09. The star wheel 111 is provided With a corresponding numlwr of teeth and an actuating tooth 110, carried with the locking disk 115, arranged to engage these teeth on the star wheel. At the zone of the tooth 110', the disk 115 is out out as indicated at 117 so that -\Vl10il,l'-l10 tooth 11G engages one A spring 109 tends to draw Tlhe othdr arm of the lever 100 has its end .in the path of a pin 1,oee,iso

of the actuating lever in the counting head. I

the rotatingdisk. This will stop the mauntil the pawl 99 has been removed from its engagement with the disk. A handle 119: is provided for this purpose and it will ap-' pear that when, by means of it,'the pawlismoved in a counter-clockwise direction, the detent 104 will again be lodged in the catch 105 and the parts remain in these relative positions until the pin 110 again comes into engagement with the lever. It is clear that the number of registrations required for the automatic-stop may be changed by 'providing more pins in the star wheel. For instance, if a second pin were disposed diametrically opposite the pin shown,, the machine would be stopped automatically for every fifty registrations. The friction disk arrangement which I have described eliminates a dead stop when the automatic mechanism takes eiiect, since the handle can be moved for a considerable partof a revolution against the resilient drag of the spring 30.

In order to provide against the registration of coins when the machine is turned in the wrong direction, I have provided the ar-' rangement shown in Figs. land 0. .Here a lever 120 is mounted at 121 in a support 122 extending downwardly from the base 10 near the flange 56 which operates around the main shaft 12. One arm of this lever is provided with a roller fo1lower 122 which rides upon the under side of the flange 50, this under side being provided with a plurality of cams 123,123, These cams are equal in chine and it will be impossible to proceed number to'the number of the openings in plate 45. The plates 45 and 125 could be made in one piece with Just an opening for the head.

lVhile theoperations of the various parts of my machine have been described in connection withthe structural explanations, I shall set forth a brief "summary of the com plete operationgas follows: A quantity of come is introduced into the annular passage between the capstan and the outerwall by -way of-the inlet space 18 and the crank 29 is turned in a direction so that the capstan will rotate in the direction of the arrow (1. The coins will be carried withthe disk. some of them dropping into the openings 21, 21 and the gates 41, 451 will tend toprevent superfluous coins from passing on to the count- Proper alinement ofthe register is ma intained by the cam disk which has been de scribed and improper operation, by reason of lnertia, is prevented by the detent lever 92 and the associated parts, as pointed out.

After-the coins li'avebeen registered in the manner described, they pass on to the opening 35 through which they fall into a suitable receptacle below. The recoil of the spring '78 violently ejects the coins from the opening in the disk into the chute. and a small roller 126 may be provided in the base, at the edge of the chute, for reducing the friction at this point, During the operation of the spindle 69 the star wheel arrangement is gradually advanced and, when a predetermined number of coins havebeen registered,- the pawl 99 is released and the machine is stopped. .lVhen the pawl is'removed from :its engagement with the disk and is caught by the latch, the operation may proceed as before.

In order-that the totalizer 85 may be reseatedrquickly and conveniently, means whereby its shaft may be temporarily connected directly with the pinion 61 rather than through the intervention of the mechaism of the counting head. This arrange ment is in the form of a clutch member 127 which is slidably guided upon the spindle 69 by means of a pin 128 and a slot 129, and clutch members 130 on the face of the pinion 61. A lever'131, pivoted at 132 to the shelf 64 is provided with a part which engages in the peripheral groove 133 in the member 127 and it will be clear from Fig. 3 that when the handle 131 is thrown over,

the'clutch members will bebrought together so as to connect the pinion 61 directly w th the spindle. The lever 131 is provided with provide engaging each other, cooperate to withdraw the lever 92 from the wheel 86. P In this way the totalizer is released for operation and when the crank 29 is turned the motionwill be transmitted directly to the totalizer and it may be operated at high speed. i

I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent: 1. In a coin counting machine, a horizontally movable member for carrying coins one at a time past a given point, a rotatable member at said given point, said rotatable member being mounted above said movable member, a totalizer having its shaft associated with said rotatable member and 'coincident therewith, said rotatable'memb'er being disposed in a plane at right angles to the movable member, and an actuating member carried by said rotatable member, said actuating member being adapted to engage the coins and to thereby transmit motion to the shaft of said totalizer.

2. In a'coin counting machine, a horizontally movable, member for carrying coins regularly spaced past a given point, a rotatable member at said given point, said contacting member being mounted above said movable member, said rotatable member bein'gdisposed in a plane at right anglesto the movable member andmaking one revo- 95 lution while said movable member travels a distance equal to that between the coins,

a totalizer having its shaft associated with said rotatable member, and an actuating member being adapted to engage the coins 100 and to thereby transmit motion to the shaft of said totalizer.

' 3; In a coin counting machine, a movable member for carryingcoins regularly spaced past a given point, a rotatable head at said holding said first-named lever out: of engagement with said wheels, and resilient means for holding said actuating lever sothat it may pass through the path of the coins,sa id' actuating lever when engaged by va coin movingsaid' first-named lever so that the teeth thereon will "come into contact 1 21) with said wheel tocarry the shaft of said totalizer around for part/of a revolution.

4. In a coin counting machine, a movable member for carrying: coins, a contacting member past which the coins are moved, a totalizer operatively connected with said, contacting member, a spring-pressed pawl tending to engage said movable member to stop it, a latch normally restraining said pawl, a'trip for said latch, and 1nterm1ttently operated mechanism associated with said totalizer-for advancing said trip.

5. In a coin counting machine, a movable member for carrying coins, a contacting member past which the coins are moved, a totalizer associated with said contacting member, driving. means operating said totalizer through said contacting member, and clutch mechanism for shifting the driving means directly to said totalizer.

6. In a coin counting machine, a movable member for carrying coins, a rotatable contacting member past which the coins are moved, and a shearing plate for removing superfluous coins from said member before it reaches said contacting member, said contaotin member making a complete revolutioni etween engagements thereof with each coin.

7. In a coin counting machine, the combination of a movable member for carrying coins, a rotatable contact member past which the coins are moved, a totalizer associated with said member, said movable member having teeth at its periphery, a spring .pawl for engaging said teeth after'a predetermined number of coins have passed through the machine.

8. n a coin counting machine, the combination of a movable member for carrying coins, a rotatable contact member past which the coins are moved, a totalizer con nected .with said member, serrations on the periphery of said movable member, a spring pawl normally held out of engagement with the serrations, and means for releasing said pawl. to stop the rotatiqn of the movable member.

9. In a coin counting machine, the combination of a movable member for carrying coins, a rotatable contact, member past which the coins are moved,-a totalizer associated with -said member, teeth on said movable member, a spring pawl normally held out of engagement with said teeth, releasing means operating to cause said pawl to engage the teeth to stop the rotation of the movablemember after a predeter mined number of coins haveengaged said 50,

contact memben 10. In a coincounting machine, the combination of a movable member for carrying coins,v a rotatable contact member past .which the coins are moved, a totalizer coaxially connected with, said member, projections on said movable member, a spring.

pawl normallyheld out of engagement with said projections, releasing means operating to cause said pawl to engage thetprojections to stop the rotation of the movable member after a predetermined number of coins have been registered.

11. In acoin counting machine, the combination of a mpvable member for carrying coins, a rotatable a rnlifliii member past periphery of said movable member, a spring pawlnormally held out of engagement with said projections, releasing means operable from the. shaft of the contact member, and

operating to cause said pawl to-engage-the projections to'stop the rotation of the 'movable member after a predetermined number of coins have passed into engagement with said contact member.

12. In a coin counting machine, a movable member for carrying coins, a rotatable contacting member past which the coins are moved, a totalizer co-axially connected with said contacting member, a spring pressed pawl tending to engage said movable member to arrestits motion, a latch normally restraining said pawl. a trip for said latch, and mechanism associated with said totalizer for advancing said trip.

13. In a coin counting machine. a movable member for carrying coins regularly spaced past a given point, a rotalahlc'lwml at said given point, said head making a revolution while said member travels a dismechanism for holding said first-named lever out of engagement with said wheel, and means for holding said actuating lever so that it may pass through the path oi the coins, said actuating lever when engaged by the coin moving said first-nanlcd-lever so that the projections thereon will come into contact with said wheel to carry the shaft of said totalizer around for a part of arevolution.

14. In a coin counting machine, a movable member for carrying coins regularly past a given point, a rotatable head at said given point, said head making a revolution while said member travels-a distance equal to that between the coins, a totalizer having a shaft terminating in said head and carrying a notched member, a lever carried by said head and having teeth for engaging with said member, an actuating lever carried by said first-named lever, mechanism for holding said first-named lever out of engagementwith saidlmember, and resilient means for holding said actuating lever so that it may pass through the i nth of the coins, said actuating lever when engaged by a coin moving said first-named lever so that the teeth thereon will ,come into contact with said member to rotate the shaft of said totalizer a predetermined amount, and means for locking the totalizer except when said first-named lever engages with said member.

spaced past a given point, a rotatable head at; said given point, .said head making a revolution While said member travels a distance equal to that between the coins, a

that the teeth thereon will come into en-'.

gagement with said'wheel to carry the shaft of said totalizer around for a part of a revolution, and detent mechanism for locking the shaft'of said totalizer after each rotation. 1

' 16."In a coincountmg machine, a movvable member for carrying coins regularly spaced past a given point, a rotatable head at'said given point, said head making a revolution while said member travels, a distance. equalto that between the coins, .a totalizer having a shaft terminating in said head and carrying a toothed-wheel, a lever carried by'said head and having teeth for engaging with said wheel, an actuating lever czirried by said first-named lever,

means for holding said first-named lever out of engagement .with said Wheel, and resilient means for holding said actuating lever so that it may pass through the path of the coins, said actuating lever when engaged by a coin moving said first-named lever so that the teeth thereon will come into contact with said wheel to rotate the shaft of said totalizer'around one-tenth of a revolution, mechanism for preventing more than one-tenth of a revolutionat each actuation of the totalizer shaft, and means for locking said tot-alizer shaft after such rotation. totalizer having a shaft terminating in said head and carrying a toothed-Wheel, a lever 17. In a'coin counting machine, the combination of a horizontally movable member for carrying coins of different denomina' tions one at a time past a given point, a

- rotatable member at said given point,said

rotatable member being mounted above said movable member and disposed in a plane at right anglesto said movable member, a totalizer having its shaft associated :with

said rotatable member: and coincident there with, and actuating devices carried by said rotatable member, said devices being adapted to engage the coins and to thereby transmit motion to the shaft of said totalizer.

18. In a-coin counting machine, the combination of a horizontally movable member for carrying coins of different denominations one at a time past a given point, a rotatable member atsaid given point, said rotatable member being mounted above said movable member and disposed in a plane at right angles to said movable member, a totalizer having its shaft associated with said rotatable member and coincident therewith, ahd actuating levers carried by said rotatable member, said levers being adapted to engage the coins and to thereby transmit motion to the shaft of saidv totalizer.

In witness whereof, I hereuntosubscrlhe my name this 12 day of April, A. D. 1911.

CHARLES L. BURDI CK. 

